Known for his remarkable service in the Clark County School District, Wayne Tanaka has made brilliant impacts in the lives of his students, colleagues, and the Las Vegas community as a whole. He was born in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, as a second generation Asian-American to a Japanese father and a Japanese-American mother. He grew up with a strong sense of community and attended Kamehameha III School and Lahainaluna High School. Tanaka eventually went to University of Utah majoring in geography and minoring in political science and history.
Joan Swift served as Clark County Recorder for nearly twenty years: 1974-1993. Born in Wisconsin, she moved to Las Vegas during World War II. Although she initially began work at the recorder's office at age 18 - she left to marry and raise two sons until they were of school age. She returned in 1955 and worked there until her retirement in 1993. The office underwent many changes under tenure with regard to technology as well as a huge increase in recordings because of the growth in population.